I Spy December

Last December, I decided to try my hand a month-long movie marathon, 31 indie sci-fi films in 31 days. Discovered a lot of gems doing so, and now December has rolled around again. Do I dare? Of course, I need to change my focus. 2015 was a big year for spy films - in theaters alone, I saw Kingsman The Secret Service, Spy, Mission Impossible Rogue Nation, The Man from UNCLE, American Ultra, Sicario, Bridge of Spies, and SPECTRE; and at home, I watched Taken, Saboteur, The Man Who Knew Too Much, Archer Season 5, John Wick, The Lives of Others, The East, Torn Curtain, Topaz, North by Northwest, The Fifth Estate, and all the Bond films from License to Kill to Skyfall, two of which I'd never seen - so what's 31 more?

I've scoured the "best of" lists and tried to assemble a varied collection, with superspies sharing a schedule with realistic procedurals, comedy as well as action and straight drama, and even some fluff pieces to cleanse my palate in between more demanding assignments. I've tried to cover many eras of film making and plug a couple of non-English language flicks in there. At first I though I might revisit old favorites, like the Bourne films or Ronin, but there was so much stuff available that I hadn't seen, I couldn't justify it. To help me structure the marathon, I've split the films into seven categories, one a day, with Fridays a sort of catch-all to and from which I can move films people want to watch with me at our weekly meeting. Here's what I came up with (films in alphabetical order, will choose on the day, according to whim and people present):

Tuesdays: KICKASS LADIES
Knight and Day
Mr. and Mrs. Smith
Nikita
Salt
This Means War

Wednesdays: FROM BOOKS
Eye of the Needle
Funeral in Berlin
The Billion Dollar Brain
The Ipcress File
The Spy Who Came in From the Cold

Thursdays: COMEDIES
Casino Royale (1967)
Charade
Hopscotch
O.S.S. 117 - Rio ne répond plus
Our Man in Havana

Fridays: CATCH-ALL
Body of Lies
No Way Out
Spy Game
Christmas is a Friday: Three Days of the Condor

Saturdays: KICKASS GENTS
Enemy of the State
Kiss of the Dragon
Red
The Recruit

Sundays: REALISTIC SPYCRAFT
A Most Wanted Man
Gorky Park
Munich
The Good Shepherd

Mondays: CHANGE OF PACE
Black Book
Blackhat
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Nothing but the Truth

Catch the action on Twitter and on each subsequent Sunday.

Don't worry, my reviews of The X-Files will continue. I'll find the time somehow. And once that's all done, near the end of the year, you can look forward to my picking Doctor Who back up with Series 9.